The Middle of Somewhere
by UnknownCelebrity
Summary: Ever wonder what happened to the crazy hitchhiker girl? Her stories much like the 5 teens...normal one day, dead the next. R&R Enjoy!
1. The Road

_Okay, maybe it was just me that was curious to what happened to that poor hitchhiker girl (no, not Pepper) on the side of the road that shot herself...well, I wrote a fan fiction about her. I own nothing. I'm just a TCM freak._

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"I'm not touching you!" Kenny yelled to me, as Mom cursed him from front seat of our Dodge Station wagon. She rolled her eyes at his stupidity. "Kenneth, stop bothering your sister. She has company."

"Thank you!" I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked back over at my little brother, who sat in a bucket seat in front of me. "Leave us alone, punk. Or you're road kill!"

He unmercifully flipped me off, before returning to the lame-ass geeky comic book he was reading. Little brothers…so annoying! I turned back to my friend Josh, who I had invited along for the road trip. The heat from the hot Texan heat had risen a few degrees, and Josh stripped off his blue collar shirt, revealing a tight white undershirt.

As he sat the over shirt on the carpet under his feet, he noticed how I was staring. His brow furrowed. "Oh," I could sense the surprise in his voice. "Um, I hope you don't mind…" He gestured towards the undershirt.

A small smile crept across my face. "No, not at all." _Really _not at all. Seeing Josh nearly topless brought back old memories, both good and well, not so good. But those we're in the past…and now there was nothing to look forward to, but the future. And a bunch of cornfields…I shifted my weight in the backseat to have a clear view of the windshield. Damn…where the heck were we?

"Um, Dad?" I spoke up, crawling into the seat next to Kenny from the back. Kenny's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Go back to your boyfriend, faggot." I chose to ignore that comment…at least for the present time. I was sure it would get brought up in the car again sometime today. I turned back to Dad, who was now half turned around in his driver's seat to talk to me. "Hmm?" He replied.

"I don't mean to be rude, but where are we?" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the flashing fields of tumbleweed from out of the windows. That had to be the fifth one I had seen in ten minutes.

Mom quickly pulled out the pocket map that was in the glove compartment, and her compass. "According to this, we should be approximately 25 miles from the nearest city, Eaton." Suddenly, I saw her face wrinkle up, as if she was confused. "T-that's strange." She glanced over at Dad. "This map says that Eaton is north, but this," She held up the compass. "Says that we are headed east."

Dad shook his head. "That can't be, we set the roads out on this trip before we left Dallas. Don't worry honey." Mom didn't get any better, and continued to stare at the compass. "Come on honey, it's an old compass," Dad reasoned. "I'm sure it is just off balanced." He grinned and turned around to see me and Kenny. "Okay kids, nothing is like a road trip without music.

Kenny and I groaned. "Gosh Dad, no! That is so lame!" I tried to talk him out of it, but once my father's mind is set, it's set. Trust me…I tried to talk him out of having Kenny. Its hard having a little brother whose 5 years apart.

"Nonsense!" Dad put a tape into the 8track, it was some band that I had never heard of and that probably went out a WAY long time ago. The noise filled the speakers, until everything else was all a blur. Hopelessly, I returned to my seat in the back with Josh.

He placed his hand on my knee and smiled. "So what's the verdict?"

My body shivered as his hand ran up and down my thigh, underneath my yellow sundress. I completely forgot what was happening. "Um…" I sputtered out. "T-they don't know where we are." I sighed as he returned his hand back into his jean pocket.

He rolled his eyes. "Figures…"

My mouth bobbed up and down, as if I was going to say something. So I swatted him with a magazine that I had been reading, playfully. "What is that supposed to mean?" I pretended to be hurt and stuck out my bottom lip, turning back towards my window.

I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders, as he tried to turn my attention towards him once more. Good…I had him just where I wanted him. I had a tendency to ruin the moment, so I bit my bottom lip to keep from giggling. He brushed my bangs out of my eyes. "I was just kidding around…"

Very blushingly, I shifted my weight over so that I was facing him. "Just kidding…" I repeated monotony, as I began to lean in to him. It was just like old times, back when we used to be dating. But that was a long time ago, two years next month to be exact. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I knew the real reason for inviting him on the trip. I mean, sure he is my best guy friend. And he's super fun to talk to, and he's such a gentlemen…but I knew. I had hoped that maybe I could spark what had been lost two years previous.

And right now, leaning into him so that our breaths become as one, I was sparking…a whole bunch. He too was leaning in, and my cheeks turned red as I imagined what would happen next. We were almost there…when all of a sudden the car lurched, making an awful _thudding _sound.

"What the fuck!" I screamed, being thrown into Kenny's backseat. Josh was thrown into the crack between the two seats in front of us. I looked up to see Dad frantically trying to get the car back on the old dirt road.

"What's going on!" Kenny yelled, holding the back of his head. I guessed that he had been thrown into the window.

Suddenly, the car stopped abruptly and I coughed from the fumes of the gas. Kenny swung open the door and both I and he hurried out, Josh following.

Dad was standing in front of the car, the hood up while Mom fussed over Kenny, who had a small bruise from the collision. "Get away from me…" He mumbled, trying feebly to push her away.

I took a peek at my surroundings and saw that we weren't on the road any longer, in fact pretty far from it actually. Ahead, I saw the break in the fence that must have caused the collision. We were standing in front of some old Mill that looked like it hadn't been in use in like, a decade. But what was really strange, was that another car sat beside ours, as if something similar to us had happened before.

In my mouth I could taste blood, but I really didn't know where it was coming from. I wasn't hurting or anything in there. Suddenly, Josh touched my shoulder. I jumped slightly, still agitated by the accident. "Whoa," He tried to comfort me. "Are you okay?" He took an overview of me, making sure.

I jerked away, not really in a romantic mood. The weather was too hot, and I was getting a major farmer's tan. "I'm fine…" I started to walk away, but he grabbed my wrist.

"No you're not." He quickly retorted, twisting me back to face him. Gosh, how could someone look this good in heat that was so bad? He took the heel of his hand and wiped just underneath my nose, showing it to me. Blood…I quickly realized that my nose was bleeding, and dripping into my mouth. "Oh gosh…" I ripped open my bag, to find a small compact to survey the damage. But Josh was too quick. He swiftly jerked up his white undershirt that he was wearing, and wiped the remainder of the blood from underneath my nose. "There." He smiled, his hands on his hips. "Now you're fine."

I didn't find any of the situation humorous. So I just marched through the overgrown grass over to Dad, Mom, and Kenny.

Dad looked helpless, as he scratched the top of his head in confusion. "I don't understand…the ignition's torn, the breaks are all messed up, and the gas meter's on E…it just doesn't make any sense." Kenny looked over at the car next to us. "It's a Chevy Firebird, about 15 years old." He said nattily, considering he was an expert when it came to cars.

"15 years?" I blurted out. Someone had just left their car in this forsaken town, for 15 years? Where was the owner? An eerie feeling rushed over me, and I had a sudden urge to keep an eye on the old Mill.

"Yep…" Kenny sighed and returned to our car. "So, when do you think it will be fixed?" Dad groaned and ran his fingers through his balding hair. "I have no idea. We are going to have to go find a mechanic, I suppose. There has to be one around here somewhere." I put my hand over my eyes to block the sun, and spun around. I hadn't remembered seeing a house on the way through here, much less a mechanic.

He turned to Mom, who shrugged hopelessly. I felt so bad…I wish I could have helped. But instead, I stood there, chewing on my dirt-ridden fingernails. Finally, after a long period of silence, Dad spoke. "Well…it's apparent that this car ain't going nowhere, so me and your mother are going to have to go find someone to help us out." As he said this, I glanced over at Kenny, whose mouth was at his knees. I knew that deep on the inside, even though he didn't show it, Kenny was scared shitless.

"Well, we better head out, if we want to make it back before dark." Dad sighed, as he pulled a handgun out of the back trunk. Dark…I glimpsed down at my leather wrist watch, and realized that dark would occur in only a few hours. Then, out of nowhere, he handed me the gun. "Take this…I hope you don't have to use it." It pained him to leave his two kids behind I know, but I reluctantly took the gun.

As they left, Mom turned to me. "Take care of Kenny…we'll be back as soon as we can." And they walked off…me and Kenny watched in silence as they disappeared into the now-oranging sky. Behind me, I could hear Josh, fumbling around in his tote bag.

"What are you doing?" He was leaning over, and abruptly stood up with an old pocket knife. I shuddered at the thought of why he would need it. "Just incase…" He shrugged.

I stood there, as mosquitoes bit into my flesh and the heat pounded my forehead. Mom and Dad were gone, and it was just me, Kenny and Josh. Boy, it had been a long day. In the distance, I could hear a buzzing sort of sound. I just blew it off…probably a lawn mower or weed cutter or something.

Little did I know, I was WAY wrong.

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I hope you like it! Read and Review please! funnybunny7 


	2. The Mill

_Thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate it. Now enough with the shit, and onto the story…_

Three hours…three hours we had been sitting outside, rotting our asses off in the sun, waiting for Mom and Dad to return. "I'm bored…" Kenny complained for the 400th time. We had turned some old trash cans upside down that were sitting outside the mill, and sat on them. I personally would've chosen to stand; the bins weren't the most comfortable things to sit on. But I was too tired and too anxious to care.

"Find some way to entertain yourself then." Josh kicked a pebble into the dirt. If rock kicking was my source of entertainment, I'd complain too. I flipped the pages of an old Seventeen magazine, before throwing it into the dirt. "Where are Mom and Dad?" Kenny asked, hopping off his garbage bin and walking towards mine.

I and Josh exchanged a glance. Come to think of it, I had no clue to where Mom or Dad would be. I mean, how long does it take to walk through a town that's like, 2 miles long? For the third time in the last five minutes, I leaned over to get a better view of the spot where Mom and Dad took off…nope. Nothing. But I was big sister. I had to respect my duty.

"I'm sure they'll be back in a second." I reassured him, in the least reassuring voice as possible. I couldn't even convince myself…Kenny rolled his eyes. Apparently he was not satisfied with my answer. "You said that 15 minutes ago, Tess." Ugh…I hated the nickname Tess. Tessa sounded much better, considering it was my name.

I had no excuse this time. I started to speak, but Josh beat me to it. "Hey Kenny, why don't you go get some of your comic books out of the Station Wagon? It could remedy your boredom." I could have kissed Josh…no seriously, I could. He knew how to keep Kenny out of our hair for at least a few minutes.

Kenny scoffed. "Whatever…" He stalked off into the weeds, and disappeared behind the mill to the car. I smiled at Josh. "Thanks, that's probably the only thing that will shut him up, is comic books." Josh slid off his trash bin and walked over to me. "No problem."

My heart pounded in my chest, and I prayed that Josh couldn't hear it. I crossed my legs to add a sexy effect, but ended up falling off of the bin instead. He laughed at me and helped me up. "So, about that thing in the car-"

It was my turn to stop him. "You know what, don't worry about it. I mean, nothing happened, right? And we're just friends, right?" I skeptically looked up at him. It pained me to say friend, when I wanted to be so much more.

Josh shrugged, and quickly added "Of course…I mean, right. We are just friends." I nodded in agreement. Friends… "Right…" I slurred, before turning around. I couldn't look at him anymore. And I didn't want him to see me crumble. I bit my lip to keep from crying.

In a few seconds, I was whirled back around to face him, and his tongue was down my throat. What the fuck was happening? Well, I knew what was happening, but why? Hadn't we _just_ established that we were just friends? Oh well, if he wanted to be more, than I had absolutely no problem with it.

I sucked on his breath harder, to make the kiss unforgettable. Because I knew Josh, and things of no importance usually just slip his mind. Well, I was personally making sure that this didn't slip. He grabbed the hem of my yellow sundress next to my thigh, and I pulled him closer to me. The kiss felt like a lifetime…good thing Kenny wasn't here to witness it or I'd never hear the end of it. Kenny…

I immediately pulled away, and I could tell that Josh wasn't ready to stop. He grabbed my wrist. "Wh-what's wrong?" I didn't want to hurt him…I wanted to continue our 'tongue escapades' just as much as he did. But the air was awfully silent, and there was no Kenny in sight.

Without a word to Josh, I turned and ran around the side of the mill, back to our old Dodge Station Wagon… "Kenny!" I screamed, searching high and low. "Don't fuck with me, kid! Kenny!"

Behind me, I could hear Josh running towards me, but I didn't care. My hands were over my mouth, as I tried to figure out where the heck that kid could be.

"Tessa?" Josh called to me, a few feet behind me. I didn't reply. "Tessa, what's wrong?"

Tears stung my eyes. I hadn't kept my word. I hadn't taken care of Kenny, and I hoped that nothing else had 'taken care' of him either. I turned slowly to Josh, in awe.

"Josh, Kenny's gone." I replied, helplessly.

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"Gone, what do you mean he's _gone_?" Josh questioned. "I mean, he was right here, we would have heard him scream if something had happened to him."

"I-I don't know! He could have gone off without realizing it, he could be hurt-" I was becoming hysteric. This wasn't happening…first Mom and Dad, now Kenny. Where the fuck were we? I began crying. I hated to let boys see me cry, but I crumble in stressful situations. And the stress debris right now was piling on my highway,

Josh grabbed my shoulders. "Tessa, calm down. Now, lets think…he was coming over here to get some comics, and-" He stopped, and jogged over to the Station Wagon, a determined look on his face. I know it wasn't the time, nor place, but he looked so damn sexy when he was thinking. After examining the car, he turned back to me. "T-there aren't any comics missing…"

The wheels started turning in my head…if there weren't any comics missing, then Kenny must've not even gone to the car. I looked around in the broken clutter of leaves underneath, seeing that there weren't any footprints small enough to be Kenny. I couldn't figure it out.

Suddenly I remembered something that had happened 3 years ago…for some strange reason it popped into my head. Kenny was 9, and I had just turned 14. He had just gotten a puppy for Christmas. Well, the dog died and Mom and Dad lied and told him that he ran away. So Kenny went looking for him.

It hit me like a ton of bricks…Kenny went looking for Mom and Dad. I looked around me, and all I saw were woods and fields. Anything could be out there…I spoke up. "I know what happened." I sighed, rubbing my temple. I was getting major stress-migraine. This was the weirdest day ever…and I do mean EVER.

"Kenny?" I yelled, as Josh dragged me through the woods. I could feel another mosquito biting my leg and fought the urge to bend over and slap it. Kenny was SO dead if I got malaria. My breath was coming out in little puffs…it was hard stuff running through acres and acres of woods. Maybe that's why I didn't make the Track team…And I was getting nowhere on the whole finding Kenny thing. It had been at least half an hour since he went missing, and not even a clue to where he was could be found. "Josh, stop." I bent over, grabbing my side. Cramp…ow. As if the day couldn't suck any worse.

He let go of my wrist, watching me bend over. "It's almost going to be dark. We need to hustle if we want to have any chance of finding him or your parents." He said that in a tone of defeat, as if we were never going to find them. That scared me…but I tried to ignore it.

"I can't feel my legs…or my stomach…or my feet. The list could go on and on." I said sarcastically. I didn't really know why I was getting all puffy with Josh, but I had to be mad at someone. And he was literally the only person in sight. "Can we like, sit down?" I didn't wait for an answer. I just plopped down into the leaves underneath a big pine tree. And I didn't even care that I was wearing a mini sundress. Or that I was sitting with my legs spread eagle. It wouldn't be the first time that Josh had seen up my skirt…or the second. Or third. But never mind.

He rolled his eyes and without effort, lifted me back onto my feet. "Hey!" I yelled, crossing my arms. I was hot, PMSing, and pissed. Nothing and I repeat _nothing _was going to stop me from sitting down. "Look, do you want to find your brother or not?" He stared at me, those deep pools of brown bled right through me.

I didn't even have to think twice. "Yes, of course." "Well than get off your ass and come help me look for him!" He turned and stalked off. Guess I wasn't the only one who was pissed…Suddenly, I heard a ruffle of leaves coming from my right. I swished my head in that direction, seeing nothing but trees, trees, and oh wow, trees. "Um…Josh?" I called out nervously. "Wait up."

I ran to catch up with him, coming at a halt directly beside him. "Gah, don't do that!" I groaned out, trying ineffectively to catch my breath. "Do you know what could have been back there?"

As usual, he wasn't listening to me. He never listened to me, even back when we were a 'thing'. I scoffed. "Fine dumbass, I see you don't care about me at all. Hmph…" I pouted. But he still didn't move a muscle. I finally looked up, coming face-to-face with whatever was distracting him from me.

It was a house, big and white, probably 40 or 50 years old or so. But it was just sitting in the middle of nowhere. Not even the pretty oh-wow-we-have-all-of-this-beautiful-land-to-ourselves middle of nowhere. No, this was the creepy I-hate-all-of-mankind-die-you-mother-fuckers middle of nowhere. I turned to see Josh's expression, and it was as if he was trying to figure out a difficult puzzle.

"This house isn't that far away from the car." He murmured, eyes peeled. I shrugged. "That's great…tell that to my legs." He quickly glanced at me, and then looked back at the house. "This seems to be the only house around. It took us what, 30 minutes to come from the Mill to here? So then why were your parents gone for 3 hours?"

That was strange…but me, being Mrs. Brightside, shrugged again. "I don't know…maybe they invited them to afternoon tea?"

Josh grabbed my wrist again, and slowly began walking towards the house. "Stay behind me…" He instructed. "If anything happens, run."

I didn't know what the big deal was. It was a house. Whoopie. Guess what…there were houses all over Dallas too. I sighed as he tugged me through the overgrown grass, more and more towards the house.

Suddenly, I felt someone grab me from behind. "AAAGGGHHH!" I screamed, tripping over a dead root and falling into the dirt. "RUN JOSH!" I shrieked, waiting for the end. But all I heard was laughter…little boy laughter. Kenny…KENNY! I leaped up, a look of death in my eyes. Yup. There stood ole' Kenny. "You are dead, you little monster!" I jumped towards him to tackle him, but tripped over someone's foot. The ground and I met once again. More little boy laughter…

"Nice work Jedidiah." Kenny smiled. I sat up, seeing a kid that _seriously _needed to Herbal Essences. He was filthy, dressed in rags and soot. I began to think he was a feral child, and that didn't speak but then he too smiled. "Thanks." I shook my head. "Who's Jedidiah?" I asked. "I met him while I was looking for Mom and Dad…he says they haven't been around here." Kenny shrugged. I was about to hug Kenny, seeing as he looked all sad, but then Jedidiah spit on my sandals. And Kenny laughed…the part inside me that wanted to hug him died.

My mouth bobbed up and down. "Uh!" I scoffed, looking over at Josh, who had hidden his face in his hands, snickering. "Fine…fine!" I huffed away, grumbling to myself. "I don't need you guys. I can do fine on my OWN!" I tripped again, undoubtedly on someone else's foot. But I was a far piece from Josh, Kenny, and that dirty kid. So whose foot was it?

I slowly turned onto my back. Yep. It was a foot. Only problem…there was no body attached to it.

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Please read and review! I live for reviews! Hope you liked this chapter!funnybunny7 


	3. Silence Is The Enemy

_Yay! Reviews galore! I can't thank you enough! Now onto the next installment of The Middle of Somewhere…_

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Oh…My…Gosh…My eyes got as big as golf balls. I couldn't speak. All I could think about was the foot and the bloody tissue around it. It spilled out of the end like fruit in a cornucopia on Thanksgiving. My mind went blank and I did the only thing that occurred to me at that time. I screamed…probably the loudest and most shrill scream I've ever screamed. After all, it's not everyday that you see a mangled foot lying right next to you. Heck, it's not every _lifetime _that you see a mangled foot period.

And then I squirmed away on my stomach, like a garden snake trying to get away from the gardener who had a pitchfork, as fast as I could move (still screaming, mind you). I could hear Josh and Kenny yelling and running towards me through the grass but I didn't care. I was leaving this hellhole, with or without Mom and Dad. If Josh and Kenny wanted to join me, that's fine and dandy. If not, then see ya. Nice knowing you. Thanks for the memories. I happen to like my feet right where they were, thank you. I would much prefer having a foot than having to wear one of those peg legs like the pirates wear.

I saw feet in front of me, and I came to an abrupt stop. Then I screamed…well, I never actually _stopped _screaming, but the tone became about three octaves louder. Then I felt strong arms picking me up by my back. This was it…dear God in Heaven, please forgive me for any wrong I've done. I prepared for any mangling or dismemberment that would take place. I squeezed my eyes shut…but then I heard whispering. And by damn, it was almost comforting. Not enough to stop me from screaming…but anyway.

I was placed on my feet, and Josh (if I hadn't been in this situation, I would have really enjoyed this) started stroking my hair and whispering to me. He wrapped me up in his arms and my legs gave way. I had no energy left…I was drained. "Shh…its okay. Its over…" He whispered over and over again. Then the water faucet turned on…I burst into sobs. Hey, I was incredibly traumatized. It's what I do.

I couldn't speak; I just kept crying and clinging on to him. After about 10 minutes, I went silent…well almost. I had no more tears. All that was left was dry heaving. I let go of him, and pulled myself out of his arms. I turned around the other direction; I must've really looked like shit. To my far left, I could hear Kenny puking in some shrubbery. Guess he saw the foot…but where was that filthy kid? Jedidiah I think was his name. Something didn't feel right. Josh brushed past me and walked over to the scene of the body part. Well, actually I think its just called a 'part' now. Considering that there was no body…

I turned around, my hand over my mouth. If I had to look at that thing one more time, I was going to join Kenny on his little quest to Regurgitate Land in the bushes. Josh didn't know how to explain it. And quite frankly, neither did I. Something wasn't right…it wasn't natural. I looked up at the old house, and it seemed to be smiling-no, _leering _down at me, as if it had some deep dark secret that only it knew. And quite frankly, I didn't want to know either.

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Still shaken by the foot, Josh held me as me, Kenny and himself walked through the overgrown weeds away from the house. There had to be more houses that Mom and Dad were at…but one thing was for sure. We were getting away from the hell house. And _fast_.

Kenny skipped ahead of us, in silence. I guess he was still a little spooked. Well, who wouldn't have been? You'd have to be a freak not to have been. Josh kept looking down at me to make sure that I was okay. It was really sweet…but I was really glad when he spoke.

"So, um Tessa…" He started out nervously, fiddling with his jean pockets. "When we get back to Dallas…um, you want to maybe catch a flick or something?"

I couldn't believe it. For two years, I'd been waiting for Josh to say those three, well-actually 9 little words to me. Guess it took a mangled foot to push him to do it…

I smiled, and in spite of myself, blushed. "Yeah, sure." I tried to sound casual…it didn't work. "I'd love to." _That is, if we ever get back to Dallas. _I thought to myself.

Dusk was falling. I could see little lightning bugs twirling around in front of me, and it was romantic…in a weird psycho-killer-with-your-little-brother kind of way, I guess.

He too smiled, and slipped his fingers through my hand. We were holding hands. We were _holding hands!_ I don't think you get how BIG this was to me! I thought I was going to piss on myself, I was so excited. But I kept my bladder in control. For obvious reasons.

I turned my head a little bit to see that the house was a pretty far piece. Suddenly, I saw the door, now looking about the size of a rice grain, swing open. An old lady stepped out, taking some huge trash bag and throwing it into a dumpster behind the house. It was body shaped…my body went numb as she looked up, seeing me, Josh, and Kenny walking away. Even from as far away as I was, I could see her eyes squint.

"Um, Josh?" With my hand that wasn't being held, I reached up and grabbed his shoulder. He stopped, turning to see what I was looking at. The lady didn't move. She just stood there, staring at us. And quite frankly, it was giving me the willies. Josh didn't say anything. I couldn't hear Kenny moving in front of me, so I knew that he had stopped as well.

Then, stiffly, she turned around and went back into the house without a word. Nothing…nada. Josh just shrugged. "Guess she isn't rolling out the welcome mat for us…" He turned around and tugged at my hand to keep on walking. Kenny had already gone ahead of us.

"Yeah," I said, in a daze. "I guess not…" I kept on walking. But I couldn't stop wondering about something; what was in that bag? It was so big…what could have been in it? I shook it off. A mangled foot was enough for one day…I didn't think I could take much else.

Me and Josh continued to talk. "So, how have you been?" He asked me, as if we hadn't been together for the past weekend. I shrugged slightly. "I've been being I guess." He smiled at my sarcasm, and then swatted a mosquito out of my face. "So, you're still single then?"

Yes…this was some sort of code word for 'Will you go out with me?' I could feel it. Guys just like to mess with your head. This was one of those tests. Well, Josh, two can play this game. "Basically…well, there was this one guy…" I trailed off, leaving a tad of mystery to stupefy him. Of course, there really wasn't another guy. But what Josh didn't know couldn't hurt him.

I saw his eyes flash. I had him right where I wanted him. "What guy? Do I know him?" He asked quickly, and I felt him squeeze my hand tighter. He he he…I was so bad. I shrugged again, casually. "Phillip Dodson." I quickly spat out. Phillip Dodson was my boyfriend from 1st grade. And here I was, almost a senior. Hell, Josh _was_ a senior.

"T-that punk?" He sputtered out. I pretended to be offended, and put on a sad puppy dog face. "Josh, he's really sweet. But I don't really see the relationship going anywhere…so." This was it. We were finally going to be a couple again. But Josh just nodded. And grew silent.

Josh, what are you doing? Don't you know that silence is the enemy? Grr…if he wasn't going to talk, neither was I. Hmph…I couldn't take the silence. I looked up at him. "Are you like, mad at me or something?"

He shook his head. "Nope…why would I be?" Although, clearly, I could tell he was pissed. It was a woman's intuition or something. But I just left it at that. I could tell that he was getting jealous. And I didn't want him to be grumpy the rest of the trip. Maybe I should have just said 'yes, I am single'. The end. Not any Phillip Dodson included. Maybe he didn't want to play games. Shit…I screwed that up. Oh well.

I felt his hand escape mine, and he just casually put them in his pocket. What the fuck just happened? What did I do wrong? While thinking this, ahead I could see Kenny stopping, and turning around slowly. And I all of a sudden heard a buzzing noise…it sounded like the one at The Mill, only this time it came closer and closer with each second. It sounded like a chainsaw. I turned around, and saw a horrid monster running towards us. His black hair was matted against his head, and he wore rags for clothing. He bore a horrible chainsaw that he held over his head, ready to strike. But worst of all, was the leather that he had for a face. It was the ugliest creature I had ever seen, and I lived with Kenny, mind you.

It took me a good long second to realize that he was running towards me, and I suddenly felt myself jerked from my spot. Josh had grabbed my wrist and was running towards the woods that were dead ahead. Kenny had already disappeared into their greenery. I was screaming again, louder and even shriller than when I saw the foot, if that was possible. And I had never heard a boy scream before (Kenny didn't count), but Josh sure was doing a good job of it.

My feet were going faster than my brain could process. Everything was a blur…trees whizzed past me as Josh, basically pulling my arm out of socket, sped through the woods. Turning my head a little bit, I saw that the chainsaw man was catching up with us. In fact, he was a little more than 3 feet behind us. He held his chainsaw out in front of him. I saw the blade and my mind went blank.

Suddenly, Josh's hand slipped mine, and I fell face-down into the dirt and leaves. It bit my lip so hard; I feared that my teeth had torn all the way through it. I tried to get up, but the man had his foot on me now. He was holding me down with all of his weight. I had no chance in hell.

"DON'T LEAVE ME!" I shrieked as loud as my lungs let me, but the only noise that filled my head was the horrible roar of the angry chainsaw. Josh stopped and I saw him turn around, and the look on his face was indescribable. It was a look of loss, love and helplessness. He picked up a fallen limb and started slamming it into the man's back. He was screaming, a scream of anguish. The man's attention turned from me, to him. What the hell was he doing?

"GET OUT OF HERE!" I screamed, as the man threw him off effortlessly. I tried to squirm out of the man's willful grip, and managed to flip myself over on my back. Suddenly, he held the chainsaw over his head, and in one swift moment, the chainsaw bore into my inner thighs. I screeched out in pain; it was all over. I could feel it shredding through my bones. I heard Josh cry out my name, as he managed to catch the man off guard.

Then, rapidly, Josh lifted me into his arms and began running. My eyes sprinkled down tears as I heard the man following us. If we survived this, there was no possible way I would ever forget that noise of the chainsaw. And my world turned to black…

* * *

The next thing I remembered, was sobbing, and loud sobbing at that. Hey, it was enough to whack me into consciousness. I opened my eyes to see me lying on the ground, Josh sitting nearby with his head in his hands. I tried to move my legs, but a shooting pain seared up my thighs. I groaned, turning my head the other way.

"Tessa?" I heard Josh yell from my left. I tried to speak, but my throat was dry and raspy. With a crumple of leaves, I knew Josh had gotten up and was coming towards me. He bent over me, and had the saddest expression on his face. Without words, he lifted me up into his arms and held me, sobbing. "I-I thought you were dead…" He mumbled into my hair. I sniffed as tears streamed down my face. "Nope." I croaked out. "Alive and kicking." He snorted, as he laid me back down on the ground.

"What happened?" I groaned as Josh helped me lean up against a tree. "We lost him. We are about a mile away from that-that house." He couldn't even get the words right. Suddenly, I realized something: Kenny.

"Oh my God!" I cried out, beginning to stand. My legs shook in weakness, and the cuts in my inner thighs burned. I bit my lip to keep from wailing out in agony, but didn't prevail. My legs gave way, and I came tumbling to the ground once more. Boy, me and that ground were getting pretty friendly…

"Tessa!" Josh swooped down and helped me stand. My legs wouldn't take it though. I leaned up against him for support. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked, holding me up. "You can't walk, that's apparent."

I gulped and frantically shook my head. "Where is Kenny?" Josh wouldn't look me in the eyes…oh God. If something had happened to him, I would never forgive myself. I grabbed the collar of Josh's undershirt, frantically shaking now. "Tell me Josh, where is he?" I began to cry. "Just tell me…please." I begged him.

"Tess?" Only one person called me that. I swirled around, and there stood Kenny. He dropped the water barrel (why he had that I have no clue) he was carrying and ran into me. He buried his head into my stomach. And as much as he hated to admit it, I could tell he was crying. I threw my arms around him. He was alive…he was safe, for now at least.

No longer supported by Josh, my legs gave way again and I moaned as I came tumbling down. "Tess!" Kenny screamed. I held up my hand and put on a brave face, even though my insides were screaming out in pain. "I'm okay…" I panted. Josh helped me back up again, and he held me as we tried to figure out what to do.

"So what now?" I asked, after a long period of silence. "We start walking back to Dallas? It's not that far. I am willing…" ANYTHING to get out of this place. Even the air that I breathed smelled sinister. Josh helplessly shook his head. "Baby, you can't walk." Side note, he just called me baby. But beside the point. I frowned, indignantly. "Sure I can." I tried to wiggle out of Josh's grip to show him, but he was too strong. Maybe that's why he was the star of the wrestling team.

"No, you can't." Josh said, as if the conversation was finished. Humph…I felt like I Am Woman should start playing at any moment, as I triumphantly walked a few feet. But it didn't happen.

Josh shrugged. "I guess we should go try to find another house somewhere. One that preferably doesn't involve hobos with heavy machinery." He said sarcastically, referring to the man with the chainsaw.

Kenny spoke up then. "I say we go back to The Mill." My mouth dropped to my knees. "What the hell? We'd have to go past-past t-that-" I couldn't get the words out. It was too much. Josh had already seen me crumble too many times today. He wasn't about to get that privilege again.

Seeing this, Josh abruptly shook his head. "No, we should try to find another shelter. It's basically dark." Oh yea. In all of the trauma, I hadn't realized that the sun had long past gone down. I nodded, and we began the long walk away from here. Josh helped me walk with one arm, Kenny had the other.

After a good 10 minutes or so, I saw figure about 100 yards away. It was…Dad? He leaned up against a tree, his back facing us, and as soon as Kenny saw him, he ran towards him. "Dad!" Kenny yelled, rushing down the hill towards 'my father'.

He stopped at the bottom, and instantly I knew something was wrong. Josh scooped me up in his arms again, and carried me down towards Kenny. Kenny's face was confused, as he called out Dad's name again. I too was beginning to wonder…Dad hadn't flinched at all when we called to him. "Dad?" I asked, my voice quavering. Josh sat me down on the ground, and I leaned against Kenny for support. Josh then grabbed my father's shoulder, turning him around. My father fell flat on his back. And worst? He didn't have a face.

* * *

_Okay, drama drama drama, I know! But I made this chappy xtra long for ya! RR, please!funnybunny7_


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